You Be The Anchor, I'll Be The Wings
by SantiStephanie
Summary: The whole title to this story is, "You Be The Anchor That Keep My Feet On The Ground, I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds." Title borrowed from Mayday Parade. Max and Fang open up more, blahblahblah. R&R?
1. Chapter 1

You be the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground,

I'll be the wings that keep your heart in the clouds.

Chapter 1: Max's POV

I was having a nightmare. Not the usual running from the school nightmare either. This one was completely different.

Fang and I were standing on a porch at some cabin. That may not seem too bad, but we were arguing. And if that still doesn't seem bad to you, we were arguing about splitting up the Flock.

Then suddenly, Angel was shaking me awake.

"Max, wake up!" Had I been dreaming too loudly? That seemed to be the only explanation.

"I'm fine, Angel, really."

She looked at me like I had lost it. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am. Now go back to sleep." And she did just that.

Just when I went to tell Fang about the nightmare I remembered that he wasn't here. The sad thing was, that nightmare had came true a while back. I was just subconsciously reliving it.

The thing that led up to the whole Flock splitting up thing was I was trusting Ari, my half brother/Eraser, who had endangered us before and more than once.

Ari's presence had made Fang quite upset, and with Fang in that state he proposed an ultimatum to me. "Choose now. _Me or him._" Unfortunately, I did not choose the guy that I would now admit to the world that I needed like no one else.

I did however choose my seven-year-old Eraser brother who on more than one occasion had tried to kill my flock members…and Fang's.

See, when we split it basically tore the younger kids in two. "We have to choose?" It broke my heart when realization hit Gazzy.

But the split ended up as follows:

My Flock: Nudge, Angel, and Total. Ari was once a member.

Fang's Flock: Iggy and Gazzy.

Even after three months of being broke up, I couldn't think about Fang's flock without tearing up a little.

And at this very moment, with Ari already expired and all, I would do anything to be back with Fang.

"We could always go find him." Well that could be no one but Angel.

"And where do you suppose we start looking?" Sarcasm was dripping off of my words. It's just. I don't want to get my hopes up, you know?

"I don't know. But I thought we could go talk to your mom. See if she's heard from them."

She was really good at thinking of plans. "Wow, I didn't think of that. We'll start on our way there tomorrow."

Then Angel smiled at me and rolled back over. "Goodnight, Max."

" 'Night, Angel."

That night was the first night since Fang and I split up the flock that I went to sleep in a good mood.

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We had been heading to Arizona for around four hours now. And we would have been fairly close if not for Nudge's constant food stops and Angel and Total always having to pee. So we were more or less four more hours away. Who knew that a five-and-a-half hour flight could extend to an eight-hour flight? Certainly not me.

I hadn't talked to my mother in a while. Remember back to book one when I saved that girl, Ella, from those bullies and got shot? Well, we just happen to share a mother, Dr. Martinez, who I must say bakes the best chocolate-chip cookies in the universe. Trust me, no one has a chance against her.

Realizing that I needed Fang more than I thought made me think about why it had taken me so long to realize that. Well…it was fairly obvious. I wasn't big on emotions and I was in denial. I have way too much pride to admit that I need someone more than I need air. That my friends, is saying something.

At one point, I would have denied needing someone so much all the way to my grave. But now that I've basically agonized over Fang being away from me, it's pretty obvious that I'm not much without him. Wait does that mean? Ah, of course it doesn't. It just makes me more dependent on him. Nothing else…at least that's what I'm trying to convince myself of.

"Max, I was thinking. Maybe we should stop for dinner and then fly the rest of the way to your mom's. I _promise,_ that we won't keep asking to go to the bathroom and to eat. Cause Nudge really wants to sleep. And she wants to sleep in a bed, not on the rock hard ground." Angel looked at me hopefully, like just because she is my baby I'll do anything she wants. "What do you think?"

Well, I was getting a little hungry, and I would like for them to be quiet for a while and quit asking me to stop constantly. "Sure, why not?"


	2. Chapter 2

You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground,

I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds.

Chapter Two: Fang's POV

Gazzy kept going on about how much he wished that we were back with Max's flock. And believe me, I miss them too, but I was not about to be the one to go back to Max. I mean of course I wanted to, but Ari could still be with her, and that's the whole reason we split the flock up.

I partly regret splitting up everyone. For one I miss Max like crazy and Iggy and Gazzy really miss the rest of them. Of course I miss the rest of the flock but I don't miss them _near_ as much as I miss Max, but knowing Max she's probably being strong for the rest of them. I know deep down, she really does miss Ig, Gazzy, and me. As much as she would deny that to anyone.

Iggy, Gazzy, and I were flying toward LA. No not Louisiana, the other LA, Los Angeles. In case you didn't know, we're on our way to some fancy magazine place that like a zillion people read. Why a magazine place? Well, we're trying to get the word out about the flock, rally kids to help us, you know?

Back when we lived in that awesomely shaped house we watched TV quite a bit, and on all the TV shows Nudge and Angel watched the teachers, parents, or some kind of adult figure told the kids that they could change the world. Until now, I thought that was bull, not so much anymore. With all the kids in the world, how can they _not? _If you can prove me wrong, please let me know what you come up with.

Back to flying. We were almost there, at least that's what I'm thinking. The cool thing about being some bird-freak is that we can kind of feel when we're getting closer to where we're heading. It's like this feeling in your gut when you know that you don't have to fly much farther and you can rest for a while, but it always seems like we get a very short-lived rest.

That reminds me of the time I told Max my idea of going to some unknown island and quit caring about everything else. Like saving the world for example. Why should we save the world of crazy scientist who created us in the first place? That's just my thinking. Max on the other hand didn't buy into that.

"Yo, Fang. Would you mind filling the blind guy in?" Iggy was so sarcastic these days. It sometimes makes me wonder why. But that would be stupid to wonder about when I know the exact reason, don't you think?

I looked around, because I was seriously wondering what there was to actually describe to him. "Gee, uh, there's some clouds above us, building tops below us, people walking on the street, it's starting to get dark out, um, anything else?"

"That's good, are we going to stop for the night? Or keep heading to who-knows-where?"

"Ig, I already told you, we're heading to Los Angeles."

"I hate to tell you, but you've been flying east. Not South of where we were. 'Cause if you would've went south it wouldn't have taken too long to get to LA, but it seems to me we're heading in some completely different direction."

What? Wow, I looked down, we were still in California, that much was clear, but the buildings started to get shorter and more spread out. Where in the heck was I leading them? If only I knew.

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You know that feeling you get, when you finally let go of a breath you didn't realize you were holding? Well, I was holding my breath alright.

You would never guess where we ended up, Arizona. You may be wondering, "Where in the heck could you go to in Arizona? The Grand Canyon?" Okay, okay. There is a perfectly good reason…at least I think there is. Max's mom lives here, and knowing Max she's probably stopped by since we split up, and if she hasn't she will. Then I will be back with Max, and the rest of the flock.

You know how I never laugh, like at all? I did just then. Ig and Gazzy said, "Where are we?" At the exact same time and surprisingly the same exact sounding voices. Yay for genetic mutation? I think not.

"Max's mom's place."

"Since when do any of us have parents?" Iggy asked like I was making all of this up, like we popped up in some random person's house in the middle of freaking Arizona.

"GOD IG, DOES IT MATTER?! THIS IS MAX'S MOM'S HOUSE, SO SHUT UP!" Whoa. I actually didn't say that too loudly, just louder than usual. Max would have freaked if she would've heard me.

Iggy looked at me, may I mention, through sightless eyes, with this extremely shocked expression, and Gazzy was laughing like me yelling (in my own way) at Iggy was the funniest thing on the face of the planet.

And to be honest it was.

Suddenly, and I mean suddenly, the door to Dr. Martinez's trailer opened. First came a dog, then came a girl. I think Max called her Ella? She looked quite a bit younger than us, but older than Gazzy. So my guess is twelve, give or take.

Then I could tell by the expression on her face that she had just seen us.

She walked out into the grass and was roughly ten feet from us and said, "You're like Max, aren't you?"

Good job at lying low, Max! I'll give her a gold star for that the next time I see her.

"Uh, yeah we are. Can we talk to your mom?"

Her expressions were hilarious, but not near as funny as the whole Ig and Gaz thing. "Sure?" Then she walked us into her house.

I will describe this house for you: **it was nice.** Done. I can almost hear you guys saying, "What the heck? What kind of description is that?!" It's Fang styled. You'll get used to it.

"Ella, who is that?" Wow, Max looks a lot like…not her mom. Oh! I had you going.

Anyway.

"Mom, they're like Max."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I didn't mean to confuse anyone with certain parts of my story. I basically screwed book three up, in case you haven't noticed. I took certain parts of book three and left it how it happened, like Max knowing about her mom. A lot of things that happen in the story more than likely happened when they got back together in the book, but I had to keep certain aspects. I'm like uberly sorry if I confused any of you. I didn't think about including an author's note about it before until I read one of my reviews. Anyway, to make up for any confusion I'm updating immediately.**

You Be The Anchor That Keep My Feet On The Ground,

I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds.

Chapter Three: Max's POV

We were finally getting closer to my mom's. At least it felt like we were. We had already stopped to eat and stuff. What amazed me about the compromise me and Angel made was, they actually kept up their part. I have no idea how they've managed to keep Nudge's mouth shut for so long. So I looked back to make sure they hadn't taped, glued, or stapled her mouth shut.

They hadn't. How they did it. I have no idea. But I don't think it'll work more than once. So I better quit hoping.

I really started to slow down, like twenty miles-per-hour slower.

"Max, what's happening?" Nudge finally spoke. I knew it was too good to be true.

"I'm like 99.9% positive we're almost, meaning like less than ten minutes, from my mom's."

They looked at me like, "Gee, I thought you said it would be a shorter flight," or something like that. I don't know, but they looked at me weird.

"What?" I was really ticked off. I don't know what it is with them anymore.

"If you say so." What happened to the sweet Angel and Nudge that were here like an hour ago?

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We landed right in front of my mom's house. The lights were on, and for some reason I found that odd cause I thought it was pretty late for them to still be up.

Angel reached for my hand. "Yeah, me too." Did I mention that her mind-reading can sometimes get annoying? Cause it can.

"Sorry." She looked down but didn't loosen her grip on my hand.

You have no idea how bad that hurt me. I can't just hurt my baby like that. "Angel, I didn't mean it."

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. HOW COULD I DO THAT TO HER? "I know it must get annoying sometimes. I'd feel the same way if I were you." I dropped it from there, because I just didn't feel like talking anymore. Something was up at my mom's place and I wanted to know what it was.

I didn't even bother with knocking because _anyone_ could be in there, you never know.

"Max, what are you doing here?" Oh man, that was my mom. _My mom._ You just have no idea how great it is to be able to say that.

I finally looked around. And I saw Iggy, then Gazzy, and lastly Fang. The look on his face amazed me the most, for one, he was smiling. Plus, he wasn't being his impassive self. There was emotion there. I smiled so huge it felt like my face was going to split in two. Nudge ran to Iggy and Gazzy. Then I noticed Angel hug Fang tentatively then head on to hugging Ig and Gazzy like no other. Total was wagging his tail like freaking crazy! And he was hopping up and down. And get this, he was actually barking. Total _never_ barks.

I waited until the girls were done hugging Iggy and Gazzy and I walked over and hugged them like crazy. Then I got to Fang, and the hugs I gave Ig and Gazzy were _nothing_ compared to the one I gave Fang. When we got done hugging Fang just gave me this look like, "We are definitely going to talk later." About what, I had no idea, but I was ready.

"MAX!" Oh crap, I completely forgot about Ella, I gave her a nice sisterly hug and then proceeded to hug my mom.

She looked at all of the flock then settled on Angel and Gazzy sitting in the floor playing with Total. "Guys, I'd say you all are really tired, how about getting to bed?"

"That sounds nice, I could use some sleep." Iggy headed upstairs with the younger kids plus Total. I however waited for Fang and I headed to another bedroom letting Ella have hers to herself. Fang followed me.

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I hugged Fang again, and let me tell you, I am not big on showing or expressing emotions, but I did this time, just for him.

"Nice to see you too." There are just no words to describe how happy I was that we were back together. I was just overflowing with joy.

"I take it that Ari expired."

"Yeah, he did." I could tell I was about to cry, and I don't cry either. Fang started comforting me, but this didn't seem odd cause he's done that so many times it doesn't make me feel awkward around him.

"It's okay." He wiped away my tears (that was odd, but I went with it) and continued to comfortingly stroke my cheek with his thumb rhythmically. It made me feel ten times sleepier than what I actually was.

"I thought you'd want to talk to me."

"It can wait," he smiled.

"Tell me?"

He seemed to think about it for a while, choosing his words carefully. "Max, I don't know how to say what I'm trying to say, so I'm just going to say it." He looked at me hopefully. I know what he was hoping for too. That I wouldn't freak out when he told me whatever it was.

"Go on." I smiled encouragingly, letting him know that I wasn't about to run away. I was staying right where I was. "I won't leave, I promise."

He smiled and continued, "Max… I love you."

"Like a brother-sister kind of love? Or an I'm-in-love-with-you kind of love?" I wanted to get this right, trust me, you would too.

He fake-thought about it, "Definitely the I'm-in-love-with-you kind."

I smiled, to let him know that I was taking it good and I wasn't going to freak out…yet. "You'll never guess what I'm thinking."

"That was pretty random, don't you think?"

"Yeah, of course it was. But you'll still never guess." I smiled.

"Hmm… If I'll never guess how about you just tell me?" Since when was Fang successful at being persuasive?

"That I love you too, quite a bit."

Fang's expression in that moment was basically everything in the world plus more to me.


	4. Chapter 4

You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground,

I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds

Chapter Four: Max's POV

I had slept forever. Seriously, almost as long as that fairy-tale guy. You know, the one who slept for like twenty some years? At least that's what I'm thinking.

"Finally awake?" I looked up at Fang, then over at the alarm clock, the red numbers said it was 9:03AM. Not as late as I thought it was, but I still felt like I'd slept a good while.

"Yeah, I guess I am. How long have you been up?"

He acted like he was thinking for just a second, like it was the hardest question anyone had ever asked him. "About 8:45?"

Then randomly something hit me. Not literally, but I thought of it. Fang had slept in here last night. At least, he was in here when I went to sleep.

"What're you thinking?" Since when did Fang care about what I was thinking?

"Nothing."

"You're such a liar, Max."

He never tells me what he thinks, and half the time I can't even figure it out. He's the one who shows absolutely _no_ emotion, and he expects _me_ to tell _him_ what I'm thinking?!

"You know that you were thinking about something, I can tell you were thinking just not what you were thinking about."

"That is so stupid. Just because you think that I was thinking about you, ugh, you're such a sexist pig."

Then he smiled, the biggest smile I had ever seen him smile. "So you were thinking about me?"

"WHAT? I NEVER SAID--"

"Basically you did, Max." Then he took a second to think about what he was going to say. "I just wanted to know what you were thinking, then you said, 'Just because you think that I was thinking about you,' so apparently you were, cause you added one little, three-letter word."

I was so mad right now. Not mad at Fang, because well, he didn't do anything. I was more mad at myself, and how I could let him control me like that. What happened to the backbone I used to have?

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It had been a good two hours since I woke up and the rest of the flock had finally decided to roll out of bed. My mom and Ella were long gone before any of us got up so Iggy made our breakfast for us.

"I was thinking, someday, when I'm a older, I'm gonna be a pro-chef." That was kind of sudden? But that was Ig's talent I guess, follow what you're good at, right?

Nudge grinned, which seemed odd to me. "That's great, Iggy!"

His returning smile almost made me puke. "Thanks, Nudge."

Fang silently tapped my knee, that may seem odd to you, but it was just so I knew that he knew that he understood how I felt at the moment.

I would love to explain to you how Fang and I almost always know what each other are thinking. But I can't. I always thought that it was because we grew up together and of all the others we were closer to each other than we were with any of the rest of the flock. But here lately, I've been thinking that it may be something more. Like…oh never mind. Forget I even said any of that.

"Max? You okay?" Angel and Fang asked at the same time. Seriously, it was the exact same time. And it kinda freaked me out until I realized Angel could read mine and Fang's minds, and Fang was almost equivalent to reading my mind.

I looked around, and I started to wonder why they thought something was wrong with me in the first place. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Angel wouldn't dare say, I know she wouldn't. At least I hoped to God she wouldn't.

"Because you were thinking--" That's when I knew that she knew what I was thinking. So I thought in Angel's general direction a _thanks._ And waited for Fang to answer.

"You were thinking? I just noticed that you were totally zoned out."

"Well, that tends to run hand-in-hand with me." Which was partly true.

Fang looked very smug, like he had won some huge battle or something. "Oh really? Since when?"

That's when I knew Angel could not have the necessary amount of self-control to keep herself from spitting out exactly when that started to run hand-in-hand with yours featherly.

"EVER SINCE SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU." Thanks, Angel. Except, not really.

She made the saddest face I'd ever seen on her. And I almost completely forgave her. _Almost_. "I'm _sooo_ sorry, Max." That apology along with the few tears I saw, that made the almost go away.

That was also when everyone started to do something so that they could act like they hadn't heard a word Angel had just said.

"Uh, hey, Ig! Wanna go make bombs?" Gazzy.

"You bet!" Iggy.

"Angel, let's go play with those dolls Ella was showing us last night." Nudge.

"Oh, um, sure?" Angel.

Where was Fang while all of this was going on? Why silly readers, he was walking very quietly up the stairs.

And I was not about to follow him. Except, I was.

My word of advice for the day: Do not take romance lessons from me. I suck at it.

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"Max, you're being so stupid right now. It's not like it was some big secret anyway. I'm sure that Angel knew that you loved me _way_ before you ever admitted it to yourself."

"You're probably right." I was proud of myself, I said that like whisper-quiet.

"And knowing Angel, she probably told Nudge and Total. And knowing Nudge and Total, they probably told the rest of them. It's not like we were covering our feelings up very good."

"What are you even talking about?" Except, that turned out as more of a mumble since I was speaking into the pillow.

"What am I talking about?! Max, you can't act like you're clueless forever. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"What happened to the barely three-word-sentences?" I was just complaining now, thinking of ways to make him be quiet and forget anything that happened in the past 24 hours ever occurred.

He glared at me. And even though my face was buried in a pillow I somehow knew that. "Maximum Ride," it almost scared me how clearly he pronounced my name. "You can't keep acting like this. You act like you'd die without me one second, then the next you're trying to cover it all back up, like nothing's ever happened. Like we're still those little kids, fighting for _fun._"

That's when I started to cry. And of course, he knew that.

"Max, look I'm sorry. It's just, we either have to actually act how we feel or--"

Through my sobs I said, "I-I do love you, and b-b-believe it or not I would die without you. And only without _you_. This is just t-too much for m-me to handle right now."

Fang picked me up off the bed, extracted the pillow from my grasp, and held me. That's all he did. He didn't try to get me to stop crying, but he let me cry until I was okay. He didn't say a word, didn't even try to comfort me, and after that crying-spree he didn't even bring it up. Not once did he throw it back up in my face.

He was simply the best.

**Author's Note: I dunno why I ended it like that. I don't know why I made Max cry. I just seriously have no clue. That's just how the story flowed. Anyway, I hope you like it. R&R. Kthanks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter is so short. Chapter six is gonna be longer. I promise(:**

You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground,

I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds

Chapter Five: Max's POV

We had said our goodbyes to my mom and Ella. Yeah, I know, we didn't stay too long. But it's not like I was going to risk putting them in danger by staying there. Even though mom didn't care.

I was still pretty tired from my crying spell last night. I have no idea what got into me.

Anyway, we were supposed to be headed to this magazine place Fang keeps talking about. Since a lot of kids seem to be checking his blog everyday, I don't see what the problem is.

"Max, you're 100% right about this. I promise."

Angel's reassurances weren't what I would call reassuring. I found it hard to tell if she was just saying that cause she had to read my mind and didn't want to hear me being all pessimistic or if she really meant it.

"I really mean it."

"Thanks Angel." I glared at the clouds, cause they were in front of me and I couldn't handle making Angel cry again like I did last night. Enough tears were shed in my opinion.

I heard someone's wings flapping above me. If I were Iggy, I'd know exactly who it was. But being Max, I had to look up to see that it was none other than Fang. "What's up?"

"I just thought I'd come check on you…and the cloud. You were glaring wholes through it." Then I caught a glimpse of one of those rare smiles that was just for me.

Which made me have a flashback to when we lived with Anne back in Virginia. God knows how that turned out. Anyway, when Fang was flirting with the Red-Haired Wonder he never smiled. At least when I saw him flirting with her.

"Thinking about me again?"

"Don't get your hopes up."

"So you were?"

"If I tell you will you leave me alone?"

He thought about it. "Maybe."

"Then I'm not telling you."

"Oh come on."

I looked away and tried my best to ignore him. He didn't need to know. So why should I tell him?

_Max, go here._

Then I had a brain attack.

Fang's POV

One second, I was talking to Max. Then in the next millisecond, she was falling from the sky.

Everyone knew what was wrong with her. There had been only one thing that had ever made her fall from the sky like that and it was a brain attack. I never understood why this only happened to her. Or why it happened to her in the first place.

But I was descending, and quicker than usual. Like a good 150 mph.

When I got closer to her, I could actually hear her saying something. But at first, I couldn't understand it. Right when I was about to snatch her and land I heard what she was saying.

"NO! CAN'T! THE FLOCK!"

"Max?!" She didn't say anything so I continued. "Max?! Are you okay?! What's happening?!"

"F-Fang?" She acted like she didn't know what was going on.

"Yeah?"

"Someone's--"

Then she collapsed in my arms.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in forever, it's summer vacation and I haven't really been home a lot. The chapter's kinda short but I dunno, I think you'll really like it, and hopefully I won't take forever to update again. (:**

You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground,

I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds

Chapter Six

Max's POV:

"Okay, so what did the voice say again?" Fang continued to question me about what the voice told me. Honestly, I wasn't sure what it meant, and I was glad Fang was attempting to figure it out. It's just, I'm not so convinced that he can.

"The voice said for me to go to this place. Only, I'm not exactly sure where it is, and I don't know what it's called. I just know what it looks like."

"But you said something about, 'Not the flock?'"

That was the very worst part of this brain attack. For some reason all of the flock was going to die. Except me. Why? I have no idea. I just didn't want this to happen at all.

"Can I tell you about it later?" Cause I mean, I was already starting to feel tears in my eyes just from thinking about it. Imagine what talking about it would do.

He just looked at me, but it wasn't how he usually looked at me. It was like he was hurting as much as me, and he was letting me know that he was.

"Iggy, you're in charge." Fang looked kind of perplexed, like he had no idea what I was about to do. Which I thought was odd.

I was about to take off and Fang grabbed my arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

Then I felt like a little kid. I didn't need his permission to go anywhere, but I know he was just asking so that he knew at least. "You're going with me, or I was hoping you would."

Finally, he let go of my arm and took off, I was right behind him.

This talk wasn't going to be pleasant.

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"So, you're saying that the entire flock is just going to die and you're going to be left by yourself?"

"Well. That's what the voice told me, anyway."

"I don't think it was the voice."

"Fang, there's no one--"

"Listen, it's probably a decoy. Those idiotic scientist are probably trying to freak you out and make you think that you're going to be by yourself in the end. If you're fighting alone you won't fight near as good as you can. They're just psyching you out."

"You think so?"

"Yes." Wow, he was back to his one word answers.

"Fang?"

His response was kind of a nod.

"I'd never admit this to anyone but, I'm terrified. What if--?"

Fang pulled me over to him and just hugged me. That's all we did. Well, I mean, I cried like the wimp I am and we just sat there.

"Max, everything's going to be fine."

And with that one sentence I was alright.

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The entire flock was asleep, except for me. I was taking second watch, which is always the worst watch to have. Cause you get to sleep for a while, then you get woke up to take your watch and then you have the hardest time going back to sleep. I don't recommend taking second watch if you can avoid it.

I was about to wake Iggy up for his watch when I heard something. I wasn't sure what it was but I wasn't about to wake the flock up if it was nothing. We'd been in the clear for a while now, what could get us now?

Then everything went black and I was knocked-out cold.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I know that I was hoping not to take forever to update. But I find it hard to make time to. So I'm mass-updating during Christmas Break since Kimper currently has a power-outage due to a buttload of snow. (N)**

You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet On The Ground,

I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds

Chapter 7:

Fang's POV:

I woke up to a teeth-rattling shake from Iggy. What could be so wrong that I had to be woke up that way? Well, it must be pretty serious cause Iggy would never do that. Right?

"Fang, I can't find Max." His sightless eyes looked extremely worried.

I glanced around, looking for some sign from her. That she was alright despite all this. "Maybe she went for a walk or something."

He shook his head, but what I didn't understand is why. "She never woke me up for my watch."

That's when I knew she was gone.

* * *

Max's POV:

I was stuck in a dog crate, _again_. I couldn't even begin to tell you how irritated I am. First, they take me to this place, very similar to the School and the Institute, except I'd never been to this place. So, that was a dead give away that it wasn't either of those places.

Scientists were stopping by my 2 by 3 crate every five minutes. Why, you ask? They apparently think that I'm going to escape or something. I wonder what gave them that idea.

"Go get Experiment 23. We have some tests to run on it." What really ticks me off is, they know that I go by a name, though they insist on calling me things like, 'Experiment 23,' and, 'it.' I have to admit, going through this situation God knows how many times does not give you more patience for it. For example, I'm already tempted to fight my way single-handedly out of this place.

Some guy, barely twenty if that, came to get me for the _tests_. I wonder what they could possibly do this time.

* * *

Angel's POV:

"Fang?" I tried to be really quiet when I talked to him because I could tell without reading his mind that he was quite upset about Max.

The only response I got was a glance up at me so that I would know that he was listening to me.

I wasn't sure what to say now, because about anything that I could say would probably upset him. "Uh..."

He was consistently looking at me now, no glances. "What is it?"

Then I started crying, and it made me so mad that I was crying, why couldn't I be more like Max?

* * *

Max's POV:

The good scientists decided to knock me out this time before they started poking and prodding me. I considered that a good thing until I got back to my crate and I had a pounding headache.

So, being the idiot that I am I decided to ask the kind scientist who locked me back up why exactly my head felt near imploding.

"We replaced a section of your brain." He seemed really calm about that.

I, on the other hand, was near hyperventilation. "Uh, what?"

"Part of your brain has been replaced."

There wasn't a feather on my body that thought that would turn out to be a good thing. I could never go back to the flock. It would be too much of a risk. Way too big a risk.

* * *

Fang's POV:

Angel suddenly broke down into tears in front of me, and I honestly wasn't sure what to do. I couldn't comfort her like I do Max, that would be all too weird. So, I did the only thing I could do.

I picked Angel up much like I was her father or something, and the be honest I'll probably be the closest thing she'll ever get to one. I didn't say a word to her, I didn't know what would and wouldn't set her off, so I just sat there holding her and I let her cry.

"Fang?" I wasn't sure if she was actually going to talk this time or cry some more. So, I just looked at her. "Are we gonna go find Max?"

"Of course." That statement relieved both Angel and me. We _would_ find Max. Even if it was the last thing we ever did.

Angel looked up at me, having read my thoughts more than likely, "Um, I was kinda hoping that we'd save her without dying."

I had to smirk at that, "We'll try our best."

"We'll succeed," she smiled, "I know we will."


End file.
